Harper Moves to Give Up More Canadian Sovereignty

[JohnyCanuck]

The word ICSID sounds like a sneeze.

It stands for "International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes," which is part of the World Bank. ICSID was created in the 1960s to allow foreign companies to sue countries, especially in the developing world. It is relevant to Canada since the Harper government recently committed Canada to ratify the ICSID Convention.

ICSID and investor-state arbitration

ICSID is a house for investor-state arbitration, the most powerful form of international adjudication in the world.

Investor-state arbitration allows foreign companies to bypass national courts and sue countries directly before special tribunals. The process is one-way; countries cannot bring claims against companies. Lately, investor-state awards against countries have run into billions of dollars.

snip

Concern #1: Removal of any role for courts

Perhaps most importantly, ICSID marks a roll-back of independent judging in the name of globalization. Uniquely, the ICSID Convention allows awards against countries to be enforced without any judicial review. Other houses for investor-state arbitration allow at least for limited review by domestic courts, although typically only in a place chosen by the investor-state arbitrators themselves.

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2013/11/12/Harper-Gives-Up-Sovereignty/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=181113

[SDjack]

1. So, criminal companies can't be sued. What a novel idea -- not. nt

[blkmusclmachine]

2. ,

,

[msongs]

3. must be taking lessons from Obama and his TPP nt

[Joe Shlabotnik]

4. Even worse,

Canada was invited late (to the TPP), as 'second tier' participants, meaning that we cannot renegotiate anything thats already been divvyed up, and we have no veto authority over anything else yet to being negotiated. Great deal huh.